Journal Entry ~ 03/30/18

9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!" - Mark 11:9-10

Jesus calls for our total and complete obedience. He came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. We all know the significance of this lowly beast, but think about how He got that donkey for a moment.  He told His disciples to go get it for Him. He was very specific about where they would find it, how they were to take it, and what they were to say if they were caught. He basically told them to go on to someone else’s property and steal their donkey; and when they were caught, they were just to tell the owners that the Lord needed it and it would be returned. Imagine that scenario for a moment.

Personally, I find what they did to be rather crazy. They risked being arrested for stealing another man’s animal.  Talk about a challenging command!  But they trusted Him and moved without hesitation to follow the very specific direction. In our lives, His commands are always very clear, but they are often not easy to follow. And even though it can be hard, He expects total and obedience. Even when it doesn’t make sense, even when it goes against what we desire or believe is best, He expects total and complete obedience. 

The rewards are great when we choose to completely trust and obey Him. The disciples moved without hesitation to follow the commands about the donkey. He said go, and they went. They had such complete faith in who He was that they didn’t hesitate to choose to follow Him, but there had to have been moments on the road to the donkey where they wondered if they would find the donkey as He said. Now imagine how blessed they were when their eyes fell on the place where the donkey was tied, exactly as the Lord described. How their faith in who He was must have been amplified!!

Some of us struggle to know what God is asking of us, so we pray and we pray about what we should be doing, but the truth is right in front of us. Deep in our hearts, we know what we should be doing, but we don’t want it to be so hard, so we continue to pray for an easier path and we hesitate to obey. I used to direct the VBS program and my church, and when I would ask certain people about volunteering, people would tell me they needed to pray about it. God is pretty clear in scripture about how we should serve the kingdom, specifically children. Praying about it isn’t going to change His very clear command, but we tend to go to prayer when we want the answer to be easier. 

Jesus’ disciples were blessed because they responded to His command without hesitation - He said go and they went. I want a heart of obedience as the disciples had. Praying when I hear His call, I respond quickly with total and complete obedience. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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